oesman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Threads
- 24
- Messages
- 407
- Reaction score
- 107
- Location
- Houston, TX
- First Name
- Dmitry
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 Mustang GT PP
We wouldn't have news if they had to prove everything was true or face a libel suit. This is not how libel works. News writers aren't supposed to make up their own stories, they have sources which could be interviews or things they're witnessing and reporting. They aren't police or consumer protection agencies so proving the truth typically isn't their job. Their job is reporting the news. For instance perp walks are a perfect example, the perp could turn out to be innocent, can he sue the news for defamation for reporting his arrest and charges? Not really, because the news is just reporting what police/witnesses/victims/etc... said.I hear what you're saying...but they're presenting specific acusations as "fact." If any of that is untrue and they've published it, there could be trouble.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Hennessey.
The article seems to be based on interviews with ex employees and customers. Unless Jalopnik made it all up there's really no liability for them. Consumers are interested in shops that are alleged to be doing a bad job or ripping people off. The topic is of public interest so it's generally fair game. There are some limitations to what is public interest. Hulk Hogan successfully sued Gawker for publishing his sex tape. There's really no news/public interest value to a Hulk Hogan sex tape. People have sex and Gawkers crazy behavior like saying they'd publish kiddy porn as news if they could, didn't help their case. Ultimately it's not like Hulk Hogan's behavior was news worthy, it's not like he's a highly conservative anti-gay politician who got caught sucking dick at an airport. There was simply no valid public interest in such a news story, which as far as I could tell amounted to people wanting to see his junk.
It's important to realize not everything on the news is 100% true. Reporters and news companies want stories that attract viewers so things are framed and editorialized a certain way. For instance they could have found some satisfied customers to interview to balance the story out, but they didn't because it wouldn't be as interesting. I've never met someone who didn't feel like their story was at least a little misrepresented by the news.
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